Weekly e-newsletter for Visit NC partners - March 15, 2023
IN THIS ISSUE:
* 2024 N.C. Travel Guide ad sales start
* N.C. film productions spend
nearly $259 million in 2022;
2023 off to strong start
* Save the date for 2024 Visit NC Tourism Conference * Visit NC international reps tour High Country
* Visit NC leads post-conference fam of
Asheville, Cary and Pittsboro
2024 N.C. Travel Guide ad sales start Ad sales have just started for the 2024 Official North Carolina Travel Guide, Visit North Carolina's fulfillment piece for visitors to and within the state. The N.C. Travel Guide is available at the state's nine Welcome Centers, Visitor Centers, via the 1-800-VISIT NC Call Center and VisitNC.com.
The guide will feature road trips, outdoor adventures (both urban and rural), multigenerational travel, and other key findings from Dotdash Meredith Travel Marketing's predictive travel insights for 2024. Outdoor NC, a primary Visit NC marketing strategy, will be addressed throughout the book. The guide will also focus on consumer behaviors, as tactics travelers can employ through the duration of planning and adventure, rather than subsects of travel audiences. In addition, the guide will include content tied to accessibility, highlighting ADA-accessible trails and destinations that offer experiences for those with sensory and physical limitations. Readers are inspired by the guide, with 87 percent saying it led them to take or plan a trip to North Carolina and 64 percent saying they saved the guide to reference later.
Opportunities start at $500. Advertising sales are available at an early bird discounted rate until July 31. View the 2024 N.C. Travel Guide Media Kithere. For more information, contact Integrated Sales Manager-Travel Stacey Rosseterat (678) 571-7445. The N.C. Travel Guide sales information was included during the Marketing Co-Op Presentation during the Visit NC Tourism Conference in Asheville last week.
N.C. film productions spend nearly $259 million in 2022; 2023 off to strong start
In 2022, 74 film, television and streaming projects had production-related activities in all eight of the state’s prosperity zones; highlights included previously announced N.C. Film and Entertainment Grant awardees.
The year wrapped with two additional film grant awardees: “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On,” a Netflix dating series, which filmed a full season in the greater Charlotte area with a reserved grant up to $1.57 million, and “Untitled Band Pilot,” which had a $625,000 film grant reserved for its Wilmington area production.
Filming for 2023 is off to a strong start with five new productions underway in North Carolina. Altogether, these projects filming in the state are estimated to generate direct in-state spending of more than $98.5 million while creating more than 9,700 job opportunities. The latest productions include grant qualifiers "A Biltmore Christmas," "Zoey 102," "A Bigger Slice of Sky," "Blue Ridge," and "Summer Camp.
Save the date for the 2024 Visit NC Tourism Conference
Save the date for next year's Visit NC Tourism Conference in Greenville, March 17-19, 2024. The conference brings together more than 500 professionals to discuss the latest trends and issues facing the tourism industry and hear insights from other tourism industry professionals. This year’s Visit NC Tourism Conference was sold-out, so stay tuned to NewsLink, as information will be shared closer to next year’s conference.
The group at North
Wilkesboro Speedway
Visit NC international reps tour High Country
Prior to the Visit NC Tourism Conference last week, Visit NC’s Heidi Walters and the Visit NC international representatives from Germany and the U.K. had a three-day tour of the High Country. Along the way, the group stopped at the North Wilkesboro Speedway for a tour of the renovations, in anticipation of the NASCAR All-Star race this May. The familiarization tour included stops at Copper Barrel Distillery in North Wilkesboro, the Ben Long Fresco in Wilkesboro, Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock, Linville Falls, Venture Chocolate & Wine in Boone, and tours of Grandfather Mountain in Linville and Little Switzerland. For more information on Visit NC’s international marketing program, contact
Heidi Walters at (919) 447-7762.
The group, including Visit
Raleigh, at The Umstead
Hotel in Cary
Visit NC leads post-conference fam of Asheville, Cary and Pittsboro Visit North Carolina, in conjunction with partners at Explore Asheville, Visit Raleigh and Pittsboro-Siler City CVB, hosted four journalists on a familiarization tour last week at the conclusion of the Visit NC Tourism Conference. The tour included stops at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, exploration of the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh, a chocolate souffle class at Fearrington House Inn in Pittsboro, and dining at many independent restaurants, plus accommodations at several hotels and inns.
Visit NC's media familiarization tours are a joint collaboration with destination marketing partners across the state. As part of its public relations efforts, Visit NC partners with DMOs, attractions and hotels to showcase all that North Carolina has to offer visitors. Hosting fam tours allow media and influencers to experience various aspects of the state so they can, ideally, produce articles about North Carolina. To learn more about Visit NC's public relations program, contact the PR team atmedia@visitnc.com.
NCTIA’s silent auction raises funds for TEFNC during Visit NC Tourism Conference NCTIA’s silent auction during the Visit NC Tourism Conference last week raised $8,740 for the Tourism Education Foundation of North Carolina. The silent auction featured items from 40 DMOs and destinations that proved popular with conference attendees. The auction proceeds are designated toward academic scholarships and continuing education programs for North Carolina's tourism industry professionals and students. The objective is to enhance the industry by developing knowledgeable, dynamic and enlightened leadership.
Visit NC PR team’s trip leads to Travel + Leisure web placements
Thanks to a media tour organized by Visit NC’s PR team, the Elmwood 1820 Bed & Breakfast Inn in Washington was featured in digital coverage from Travel + Leisure. The writer, one of four on the 2022 familiarization tour hosted by the Washington TDA and other DMO partners, highlighted Elmwood 1820 in “
17 Cozy Inns Around the U.S. Perfect for Your Next Getaway." Noting the inn’s proximity to downtown, the online article noted that each of the five rooms is uniquely themed and that all offer “amenities such as soaking tubs and estate-worthy antiques. A grand piano and wet bar add to the grandeur.” In addition to travelandleisure.com’s 12.7 million unique visitors per month, the reach got a boost of 409 million through syndication on Yahoo! Life.
In another digital coverage from Travel + Leisure, Great Smoky Mountains National Park was in the spotlight via “12 Most Stunning National Parks in the U.S.” Like the PR team’s pitch, the writeup recommended visiting Cataloochee Valley at dawn or dusk for a chance to see the elk. Through syndication on Yahoo! Sports, the post gained 27.7 UVPM in reach on top of the 12.7 million for travelandleisure.com.
Research reports culinary travel growing in importance, food trails 2023 travel trend
The culinary scene is important to many American travelers, reports Destination Analysts. More than a third of American travelers say that they researched the food experiences in the place they visited in the past 12 months. Nearly a third say they waited in line to try a well-known food item or experience. In addition, nearly half of travelers say that food/cuisines are important trip motivators.
In fact, Food Trails, according to Food & Wine, are one of the biggest travel trends expected in 2023. The 2023 Hilton Trends Report also notes that nearly half of the travelers surveyed are looking for immersive and authentic cultural experiences such as food and beverage. Immersive culinary travel such as this is when travelers actively seek out food that’s special to a region. According to a recent report by World Food Travel
, more than three-quarters of travelers believe that local food helps them better understand the culture of the destination they are visiting.
In Destination Analysts’ State of the American Traveler report, culinary interests while travelers are particularly high among Gen X and Millennial travelers. Nearly 70 percent of each group say that this is important to them while traveling.
Visit NC will be providing frequent research updates through Newslink with links to available studies.
Miles Partnership now accepting scholarship applications for attending STS Marketing College
Miles Partnership has opened the application period for its annual scholarship program to the STS Marketing College. Miles will award scholarships for the 2023 session, selecting a tourism industry professional in each of the 14 STS member regions, including one for North Carolina. Marketing College is a continuing education program that is offered annually as a one-week intensive session in June in Georgia. Click here for more information, including submitting the application. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on March 17.
Numerous N.C. sites nominated for Best Wellness Retreat Center
Vote for North Carolina sites nominated in USA Today’s 10Best’s category for Best Wellness Retreat Centers. Daily online voting is open until noon on April 3.
Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains among top national park visitation sites The National Park Service (NPS) has announced Annual Visitation Highlights for 2022, noting sites received 312 million recreation visits, up 15 million visits (5 percent) from 2021. While not as high as 2018 and 2019 (318 million and 327 million recreation visits, respectively), service wide visitation has essentially recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The Blue Ridge Parkway took the #1 spot, Great Smoky Mountains National Park was #3 with Cape Hatteras National Seashore #33 in the top 35 Most Visited Parks of the National Park System, which includes national parks as well as historic sites, lakeshores, seashores and more for recreation visits.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park was #1 among the most visited national parks. The Blue Ridge Parkway was #1 among national parkways. Cape Hatteras National Seashore was #3 in the most visited national seashores, with Cape Lookout NS at #7. Moores Creek NB was #10 among National Battlefields. Fort Raleigh NHS was #8 among the top 10 National Historic Sites. Wright Brothers NM was #12 among the top 15 National Memorials. Guilford Courthouse NMP was #5 among the National Military Parks. To view the complete annual rankings, including a breakdown by categories of park types, start here
.
‘North Carolina Weekend’
For the week of March 16, "North Carolina Weekend” offers “Year of the Trail,” which initially aired Feb. 2. Featured segments include Elkin Valley Trail Association and its volunteers, basing the story in Elkin; Fonta Flora State Trail, basing the story in Morganton; the Year of the Trail initiative, basing the story in Climax; Roanoke River Trail, basing the story in Weldon; and Sandhills Pour Tour, basing the story in Southern Pines.
(Check local listings for schedule; segments are subject to change.) "North Carolina Weekend" is underwritten by Visit North Carolina. In addition, PBS North Carolina has recent editions of "North Carolina Weekend" available online.
Visit North Carolina is part of Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
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